I found this house today whilst searching for a way to improve my house. It belonged to Nancy Fishelson, she is a restorer of houses, and is amazing at turning an old house, sympathetically, into a comfortable modern home. The house is a 1795 clapboard house on 20 acres in Woodbury, Connecticut, New England. This is the house in it's original form.
And this is it after it's revamp.
Now for the nice bits! The kitchen before...
The kitchen after...
Beautiful wide old plank floors.
I love the distressed colour of the gate leg table, and of course the quilt on the chair.
The soft grey of the fireplace stands out from the white walls, beautifully simple.
How lovely is the old dolls house, with an antique child's bed as somewhere to sit.
The slate work tops and sink look fantastic with the white cupboards.
A relaxing place to sit and read.
Something I've always wanted, a window seat. linen textiles on the armchair and window seat tie the two together.
Are you noticing the same calm colour palette throughout the house?
A mud room is essential in New England, somewhere to take off your outside clothes before entering the main house, when the snow melts there is a lot of mud, hence the mud room.What an amazing soap stone sink.
A copper bath to die for, an e-bay find apparently!
Another lovely sink in the guest room.
Gorgeous colours in the dining room, with some beautiful wooden artefacts.
Every room is just stunning, simple, and full of style.
I have always loved white walls and natural coloured furniture, with lots of linen, grey limed wood, and lots of unusual items such as old bowls, decoys and anything quirky but tasteful. Distressed items with graphics on are a big favourite of mine, old signs, graphic prints in old frames, old linen material with original writing printed on it can be made into various things, such as table runners or cushions.
I find this style both elegant and relaxing, somewhere unpretentious and calming to spend your time, made all the more stunning by being in New England, where this style perfectly suits the surroundings.
Click here to find out more about Nancy and her work. Don't get excited when you see the house is for sale, it was sold in 2009!
Lots of beautiful ideas in these pictures, to be scaled down, if like mine, your house is a lot lot smaller, and newer!
Paintbrush and furniture here I come.